The Real Santa

Saint Nicholas (St. Nicholas) is the primary inspiration of the Santa Clause. St. Nicholas was a 4th century Christian bishop of Myra in Lycia, a province of the Byzantine Anatolia, now in Turkey.

St. Nicholas parents were very rich so they always bought him plenty of toys. But Nicholas was so kind that he gave them all away. He gave them to the children who had none. St. Nicholas parents died when he was just a teenager. His parents left him with a lot of money which made him a rich young man. He was living with his uncle who was a priest.

One day, St. Nicholas heard about a man who had lost all his money. He had three daughters who were old enough to get married. But those days’ young women had to have money in order to get married. This money was a “dowry” and it was used to help the new family get started. If they don’t have money they cannot get married. This family was very poor and they didn’t even have food to eat. The father decided to sell his daughters as slaves because they couldn’t live at home any longer. The girls were very sad that they wouldn’t be able to have families on their own and they would be slaves.

The night before the oldest daughter was to be sold; she washed her stockings and put them in front of the fire to dry. Then they all of them went to sleep. In the Morning the daughter saw something lumpy in her stocking. She reached in and found a small, heavy bag with gold! Enough to provide food for the family and money for her dowry. Oh, how happy they were! The following morning, another bag with gold was found. They rejoiced because two of the other daughters would be saved.

The next night, the father planned to stay awake to find out who was helping his family. He dozed off, but heard a small ‘clink’ as another bag landed in the room. Quickly he jumped up and ran out the door. He saw St. Nicholas, the young man who lived with his uncle. “Nicholas, its you! Thank you for helping us-I hardly know what to say!” said the man. Nicholas said “Please, do not thank me. Thank god that your prayers have been answered. Don’t not tell others about me.”

St. Nicholas always tried to help secretly. He didn’t want any attention or thanks. Years passed and he chosen to be a bishop. And he never stopped doing nice things for people. At night while everyone was fast asleep he would leave food and presents for families all over town. And before anyone saw him he would slip quietly away.

He always helped people in trouble. All his life he showed people how to love God and care for each other. People loved St. Nicholas. After he died, they told stories of the good and kind things St. Nicholas had done. He is an example of how we should live.

The History of Christmas

In most places around the world, billions of people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December since AD 354, replacing an earlier date of January 6th. The date of celebration is traditional and not considered to be the actual date of birth of Christ.

The word “Christmas” originated as a contraction of “Christ’s Mass”. In the early Greek version of the New Testament, the letter X is the first letter of Christ. Therefore, “XMas” is often used as the abbreviation for Christmas.

It is unknown when or why December 25 became associated with Christ’s birth because the New Testament did not give any specific date.

There were mid-winter festivals celebrated in ancient Middle East and European countries which took place at this time (December). The birth of the ancient sun-god Attis in Phrygia was celebrated on December 25th, as was the birth of the Persian sun-god, Mithras. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, an festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of peace and plenty. Public gathering places were decorated with flowers, gifts and candles were exchanged and the population, slaves and masters alike, celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm. The Christmas celebration was created by the early church in order to entice pagan Romans to convert to Christianity without losing their own winter celebrations.